Global Plastics Outlook Economic Drivers, Environmental Impacts and Policy Options


Book Description

While plastics are extremely useful materials for modern society, plastics production and waste generation continue to increase with worsening environmental impacts despite international, national and local policy responses, as well as industry commitments. The first of two reports, this Outlook intends to inform and support policy efforts to combat plastic leakage.




Global Plastics Outlook Policy Scenarios to 2060


Book Description

The global community is far from achieving its objective of ending plastic pollution, unless more stringent and co-ordinated policies are implemented. A key question is: What are the plausible scenarios for the evolution of plastics in the absence of additional measures and, as well, with scaled-up policy action?




Global Plastics Outlook


Book Description

While plastics are extremely useful materials for modern society, plastics production and waste generation continue to increase with worsening environmental impacts despite international, national and local policy responses, as well as industry commitments. The urgent need to make the lifecycle of plastics more circular calls for an expansion of national policies and improved international co-operation to mitigate environmental impacts all along the value chain. The first of two reports, this Outlook intends to inform and support policy efforts to combat plastic leakage. The report quantifies the current production, use, disposal and key environmental impacts throughout the entire plastics lifecycle and identifies opportunities for reducing the negative externalities. It also investigates how plastics use and waste have been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic across sectors and regions. The Outlook identifies four key levers for bending the plastics curve: stronger support for recycled (secondary) plastics markets; policies to boost technological innovation in plastics; more ambitious domestic policy measures; and greater international co-operation.




Global Plastics Outlook


Book Description




Global Plastics Outlook


Book Description

The global community is far from achieving its objective of ending plastic pollution, unless more stringent and co-ordinated policies are implemented. A key question is: What are the plausible scenarios for the evolution of plastics in the absence of additional measures and, as well, with scaled-up policy action? The Global Plastics Outlook: Policy Scenarios to 2060 provides such a forward-looking perspective. The report presents a set of coherent projections on plastics to 2060, including plastics use, waste as well as the environmental impacts linked to plastics, especially leakage to the environment. Such an outlook on plastics can help policy makers understand the scale of the challenge to transition to a more sustainable and circular use of plastics and the need for additional policy action. By identifying two policy packages to bend the plastic curve, the Outlook allows for a better understanding of the environmental benefits and economic consequences of adopting stringent policies. This second report is a follow-up to the first report - Global Plastics Outlook: Economic Drivers, Environmental Impacts and Policy Options - which quantified current trends in plastics use, waste generation and leakage, as well as identified four policy levers to curb the environmental impacts of plastics.




Global Plastics Outlook


Book Description

The global community is far from achieving its objective of ending plastic pollution, unless more stringent and co-ordinated policies are implemented. A key question is: What are the plausible scenarios for the evolution of plastics in the absence of additional measures and, as well, with scaled-up policy action? The Global Plastics Outlook: Policy Scenarios to 2060 provides such a forward-looking perspective. The report presents a set of coherent projections on plastics to 2060, including plastics use, waste as well as the environmental impacts linked to plastics, especially leakage to the environment. Such an outlook on plastics can help policy makers understand the scale of the challenge to transition to a more sustainable and circular use of plastics and the need for additional policy action. By identifying two policy packages to bend the plastic curve, the Outlook allows for a better understanding of the environmental benefits and economic consequences of adopting stringent policies. This second report is a follow-up to the first report - Global Plastics Outlook: Economic Drivers, Environmental Impacts and Policy Options - which quantified current trends in plastics use, waste generation and leakage, as well as identified four policy levers to curb the environmental impacts of plastics.




Global Plastic Pollution and its Regulation


Book Description

Addressing one of the most pressing environmental issues, this topical book carefully inspects the current extent of the plastic pollution crisis and observes contemporary approaches to its regulation. By adopting a strong interdisciplinary approach, this book fully encapsulates the key challenges and solutions surrounding this globally applicable problem.




Policy Scenarios for Eliminating Plastic Pollution by 2040


Book Description

Plastics provide multiple benefits to society, but their lifecycle − from feedstock extraction and polymer production to use and disposal − contributes to pollution, climate change and biodiversity loss. Current policies are inadequate to meaningfully alter trends in plastic flows and related pollution. This report provides insights into the potential environmental benefits and economic consequences of different levels of international policy ambition towards ending plastic pollution by 2040. Based on the quantification of the main drivers of plastics production and use, waste and pollution, the report provides projections of the plastics lifecycle, waste generation and treatment, as well as related leakage to the environment. The report presents and contrasts a range of policy scenarios with varying levels of ambition in terms of the stringency, lifecycle scope and geographical coverage of policies implemented. Its findings can inform a critical stage of international negotiations to develop a legally binding agreement to end plastic pollution.




Indicators for plastic pollution


Book Description

Available online: https://pub.norden.org/temanord2023-526/ Negotiations have started for an international treaty to solve the global problem of plastic pollution. This agreement and other actions need reliable measurements. It was the objective of this project to analyze and recommend indicators for plastic pollution, which are relevant, easy to measure and comprehensive. Most losses to the environment are larger plastic items, which eventually break down to microplastics. Mismanaged waste is an important source of plastic pollution, but difficult to measure. A set of complementary indicators could include plastic production/use, recycling rates, plastics in wastewater and rivers, beach litter, floating microplastics and plastic particles that are taken up by animals, e.g. seabirds. A holistic approach to plastic losses along the value chain and plastic accumulation in the environment would improve our understanding and related actions.




Global Environment Outlook - GEO-6: Healthy Planet, Healthy People


Book Description

Published to coincide with the Fourth United Nations Environmental Assembly, UN Environment's sixth Global Environment Outlook calls on decision makers to take bold and urgent action to address pressing environmental issues in order to protect the planet and human health. By bringing together hundreds of scientists, peer reviewers and collaborating institutions and partners, the GEO reports build on sound scientific knowledge to provide governments, local authorities, businesses and individual citizens with the information needed to guide societies to a truly sustainable world by 2050. GEO-6 outlines the current state of the environment, illustrates possible future environmental trends and analyses the effectiveness of policies. This flagship report shows how governments can put us on the path to a truly sustainable future - emphasising that urgent and inclusive action is needed to achieve a healthy planet with healthy people. This title is also available as Open Access on Cambridge Core.